WINGS! WINGS! WINGS!

With Super Bowl coming up, I thought I'd post my favorite wing recipe. This was the very first chicken wing recipe I ever made which happened to be for Super Bowl back in 2004. Six years later, my husband still asks me to make these wings and they're always a huge hit with guests.

Tyler Florence gets all the flavor notes right on with this recipe. It's sweet, it's a little sour, and spicy. They're messy and additctive, which are the two requirements for a good wing. And because these are baked in the oven, they're also a little healthier than the traditionally fried buffalo style wing. Try them out in a few days for the big game!

Terriyaki Hot Wings with Sesame and Cilantro by Tyler Florence

For the terriyaki sauce:

1 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 cup grapefruit juice

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 fresh red chiles, halved

5 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed

2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and mashed with knive

For the chicken wings:

2 dozen chicken wings (3 1/4 pounds), washed and patted dry

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine all the ingredients for the terriyaki sauce (soy sauce, grapefruit juice, hoisin, ketchup, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, chiles, garlic, and ginger) in a pot and bring to a small boil, stirring occasionally. Cook until thickened, about 20 minutes.

While the sauce cooks, prepare the chicken. Season the wings liberally with salt and pepper. Lay the wings out on a baking sheet in an even layer and place in oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until skin gets crispy. Using tongs, dip each wing in the terriyaki sauce and return to the sheet pan for another 10-15 minutes to glaze. Serve family style on a large platter drizzled with the remaining sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds and cilantro.

My Notes:

I don't know what kind of oven Tyler uses, but my wings did not get done in 20 minutes. I find I need to cook them a good 40 minutes in a 400 degree oven to get them crispy and cooked (we are dealing with poultry here afterall). So make sure you go off of how crispy the wings are getting rather than the time.

The sauce is perfection, but if you can't find grapefruit juice or don't have it, just substitute orange juice -- I've done that a few times and it works out beautifully.

Make sure to use toasted sesame seeds -- they have a "crunch" to them whereas the untoasted onces taste flat.

When I make these wings I end up using two baking sheets so I don't crowd them. This enables the wings to cook faster and better. When you crowd them, they'll tend to steam rather than get crispy which is what you want in a good wing.

If you're diametrically opposed to baking a wing and must fry it, then go ahead and heat some peanut or canola oil in a very large pot, fry your wings, then toss them in this sauce.